Birds of Prey #7: I know why the caged bird sang…

It’s the Birds of Prey. DC’s preeminent female team title, written by one of comics most prominent female voices working today. Hot off of her monumental run on Marvel’s Captain Marvel, which ran for a record breaking 50 consecutive issues, and cemented Thompson’s status, came to DC to work her magic on Dinah, and the rest of the gals, as they butt heads with the patriarchy, and as many bad guys that you can shake a stick at. Dinah’s picked up some familiar, and not so familiar faces along the way, so let’s get this show on the road…

After the events of the last storyline Dinah recruits Babs (Batgirl/Oracle), and the crew runs into Mari Jiwe McCabe, aka the one and only Vixen, where they fall head first into this new mission that deals with Vixen’s company MJM Enterprises. Meanwhile Barda and Cass are busy training Sin, leading to some levity and cheekiness to the book. It looks like we can expect a revolving cast after each mission, with the core of Dinah and Babs, drawing inspiration from one of the BoP’s original status quos. It’ll be fun to see how Kelly handles the roster in its various incarnations as time moves on. 

One of the things that’s been a key part of the Birds of Prey has always been a book full of bad ass women, who have one of the deepest friendships in comics. All things that fans have come to expect from Kelly Thompson. One of the biggest highlights of Kelly’s run on Captain Marvel was her handling of Carol and her personal relationships. Especially between Carol and Jessica Drew. Quite possibly the best friendship we’ve seen in comics in the last decade, so seeing her being that same dynamic over here has helped elevate the quality of the books in the line. Plus Barda’s role as the comedic relief was a breath of fresh air. I was apprehensive of Barda’s addition in the beginning, but true to form Kelly has changed my mind. I can’t wait to see what else comes next.

Joining Kelly Thompson for this arc is comic superstar artist, and artist co creator of Thompson’s Star mini, Javier Pina! Thompson’s run on Captain Marvel had a rotating artist roster, which seems to have followed her over here. Pina’s been one of those artists that’s been one of those with a style that’s very sleek, and glossy. Unlike Leonardo Romero’s style, who has a style more akin to Neo-classical/noir, Pina’s work here really adds to the atmosphere of the story, giving it a sheen to play up with the fashion themed caper. The two creators really seem to work well together, so seeing what they come up with next will be a real treat.